I trudged all over Sandy Hook, emphasis on the "Sandy." But each trudging trip offered up an interesting bird.
I started out at Spermaceti Cove (yes, that's its real name) walking on the storm-slanted boardwalk. That wasn't a trudge, just a little fun house walk. On my way out I met another birder returning. To the usual question, "Anything interesting," she replied that she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary and she was right: Brant, Red-breasted Mergansers, Osprey, gulls. List builders.
On the other side, by the old rescue station, I looked out to the ocean from a dune and spotted 3 ducks in the water. Looked like scoters, but I couldn't tell, they were too far off, and at that point, I didn't feel like walking all the way out to the edge of water to find out what kind. Besides, there were a lot of fishermen out there and scopes and rods don't mix. I did see one fisherman returning with a huge fish. He was holding it by the gills at his waist and its tail fin was dragging in the sand. He told me it was a striper. Didn't look like anything I'd want to eat though.
I stopped at the Boy Scout Camp and picked up a few nice birds: Hermit Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, and my sole warbler for the day. More Brant were in Horseshoe Cove, plus cormorants and 1 Bonaparte's Gull. The spot in front of the old Sandy Hook Bird Observatory gave great looks at about 100 Northern Gannets plunge diving and resting in the water near a weir. I drove up to K lot and walked up to the hawkwatch platform. Because the winds were from the north today the counter told me that he'd seen very little raptor activity. All I saw up there were Turkey Vultures and more Osprey.
Then the trudging began. I walked all the way out to the tip of the hook along the fisherman's trail which is deep sand. It's probably only about 1/2 a mile but it feels like 10 times that long. And when I got there--nothing. Gulls, gannets, and geese. Disgusted, I turned my back to leave and immediately heard, "Whee-whee-whee." I scanned an arc from east to west and right at the western edge of the arc I found 2 American Oystercatchers. I wished Shari had been with me.
Walking back I passed a pond which had been empty coming out. Now it had 14 Turkey Vultures sitting on its edge, all jostling one another like restless adolescents. I didn't see any carrion nearby and thought it was pretty unusual to see so many vultures on the ground until I remembered having to walk through a flock of at least 50 one time at a marsh in Florida.
Back at K lot I put the scope in the car and took a walk in the "garden" next to the hawkwatch battery. Again, not a thing as I walk through it and out onto the path leading to the pond. Nothing calling even. But finally, as I was returning, I saw a Merlin perched in a tree. 5 seconds and it flew off.
There's a weird area west of K lot that leads to a grassy area and the ruins of another battery behind the Coast Guard Station. I'd never been back there until last year when we were looking, unsuccessfully, for the Harris's Sparrow that had been hanging out there until the day we went. There were a few common birds back there today but my real find was 3 Field Sparrows that were flying from tree to bush. Got great looks. I don't see them that often and in fact, they were my first NJ FISP.
It was clouding up and getting blustery so I drove south and made a few desultory stops. My last stop was a parking lot south of the place where I started the day. Again, I scanned the ocean and again I saw 3 ducks. Well now, I just had to see, so I grudgingly trudged out to the water's edge, set up the scope and found--3 White-winged Scoters with the creepy white comma's around their eyes. Now I had all 3 scoters for the year.
My back hurts and I'm damn tired but 37 species is a decent day when the winds are holding back migration:
Brant 250
Canada Goose 25
American Black Duck 12 Spermaceti Cove
White-winged Scoter 3
Red-breasted Merganser 40
Northern Gannet 100
Double-crested Cormorant 40
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 1 Spermaceti Cove
Turkey Vulture 25 Including 14 on pond at north end of hook
Osprey 5
Merlin 1 Near hawkwatch
American Oystercatcher 2 North end of hook
Bonaparte's Gull 1 Horseshoe Cove
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 130
Mourning Dove 1
Northern Flicker 6
American Crow 6
Fish Crow 2
Tree Swallow 3
Barn Swallow 2
Eastern Bluebird 1
Hermit Thrush 3 Randolph Rd.
American Robin 15
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 70
Cedar Waxwing 1 Road to Nowhere
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Bike path @ Boy Scout Camp
Field Sparrow 3 Behind Coast Guard Station
Song Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 1 Bike path @ Boy Scout Camp
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 10
House Finch 2
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Shari noticed the other day that someone nearby had put up martin houses. We drove by this evening and sure enough, one Purple Martin was sitting on top of its condo. Good to know martins are around--great mosquito control!
